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Eastern Kentucky Town Vicco (Pop. 334) Passes Fairness Ordinance

Fairness Ordinances in Kentucky have been the domain of populous places — Louisville, Lexington and Covington. The latest Kentucky municipality to approve a Fairness Ordinance is a tiny town in far eastern reaches of the state.Vicco, Ky. — in Perry County, population 334 — recently passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination in housing, public accommodations and employment based on sexual orientation or gender identity, says the Fairness Coalition.In a statement, Vicco City Attorney Eric Ashley said:  "Vicco is a community that believes all folks should be treated fairly. We believe everyone deserves the opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Fairness is a Kentucky value, a Vicco value, and one of our most American values."The last Kentucky city to approve a Fairness Ordinance was Covington in 2003. Three of Vicco's four commissioners approved the ordinance, plus the town's mayor.A statewide fairness billhas been filed in the Kentucky General Assembly, sponsored by Democratic State Sen. Kathy Stein. The Fairness Coalition added: Vicco's passage of a Fairness law comes on the heels of several other Kentucky communities' movements towards anti-discrimination protections through work with the Fairness Coalition of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky (ACLU-KY), Fairness Campaign, Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, Kentucky Fairness Alliance, and Lexington Fairness. In November, grassroots movements for Fairness began in Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, and Shelbyville, joining those already under way in Berea and Richmond.

Joseph Lord is the online managing editor for WFPL.